The story so far
We now start a new book in Vyasa’s Mahabharatam titled “the preparations (to avert, or to prepare for, war) or the Udyoga Parvam)”.
Let us recapitulate the story so far. We are on the fifth book in the epic which is the story of the Bharata dynasty and of the Bhaarata war. When the story develops there were two brothers in the family. The elder was called Dhritarashtra who had a hundred sons . The younger was known by the name, Pandu, with five sons. The sons of Dhritarashtra and of Pandu were collectively called the Kauravas, Kuru being one of their famous ancestors. Separately, that term is used for the sons of Dhritarashtra. The sons of Pandu are called the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra was born blind and, hence, lost his claim to the throne. Pandu ruled the land for a while, but unfortunately, died young.
A few elders lived in the palace when the story unfolded. One was Bhishma, the grand uncle of the Kauravas. The other was Vidura who was their uncle. Besides, Dhritarashtra’s wife, Gandhari and Pandu’s wife, Kunti also lived with them. Two famous teachers of the Kauravas, Drona and Kripa also lived in the palace.
Yudhishthira, the eldest born to Pandu, inherited the throne after Pandu’s death. He ruled his kingdom in an exemplary manner. Yudhishthira performed a sacrifice called Rajasooyam with the help of his four valiant brothers, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, and was proclaimed an emperor at the end.
Duryodhana was the eldest son of Dhritarashtra. He was very ambitious and, at the same time, envious of his cousins. He also had a grievance that he lost the claim to the throne because of his father’s blindness. His way of redressing his grievance was far from being just or noble. He tried all means to harass and even kill the Pandavas. He was assisted by his brother, Dussasana, uncle, Sakuni and friend, Karna in his nefarious activities. The elders, like Bhishma, Vidura and Drona, normally gave wise counsel. But, Duryodhana, and because of him Dhritarashtra, always ignored them.
The first major attempt to kill the Pandavas was by burning down a house of wax in which the Pandavas were made to live for a while. This lead to a life of exile for the Pandavas . If they were found out, they could be destroyed by Duryodhana and his men. At the end, the Pandavas emerged in the Palace of king Drupada of Panchala , where Arjuna won the test to claim the beautiful Draupadi in marriage. This was another blow to Duryodhana who was one of the suitors for Draupadi. Under exceptional circumstances, the five Pandavas married Draupadi together.
The original capital of the Kurus was at Hastinapura. When the Pandavas returned home safe from the disaster in the house of wax, Dhritarashtra advised them to live away from his own sons. A new palace was built for them at Indraprastha. The two families lived separately for a while peacefully. However, trouble erupted again.
Duryodhana plotted with his uncle, Sakuni and invited Yudhishthira in for a game of dice. The Pandava was induced to stake all he owned in the game. He lost all in a game that was unfairly matched. He and his brothers were sent to thirteen years in exile with their wife, the last being a mandatory life in complete hiding. The Pandavas completed their years in exile successfully. The culmination was the marriage of Abhimanyu, Arjuna’s son, with the princess of Matsya, by name Uttara.
We should not forget one central character in the whole story, of Krishna. He was a prominent member of the Yadava race, attributed with divine powers. His brother, Balarama also often appeared in the story, taking a neutral stand. The two were related to the Pandavas through Kunti. Their childhood was spent in the company of the Pandavas and Kauravas. Arjuna was the best friend of Krishna.
We should also not ignore the role played by Draupdai. She was insulted by Dussasana, a brother of Duryodhana, in the open assembly after the game of dice. She swore on that occasion that Bhima would take revenge on the Kaurava with his blood on her behalf.
With this background let us proceed.
Future course of action
The day after Abhimanyus’ marriage, Krishna and Drupada addressed the assembly of Virata.
Krishna said. “The Pandavas have kept their promise by living out the thirteen years in exile. They should now, rightly, get back their share of kingdom. An emissary should be sent to Duryodhana to talk on behalf of the Pandavas. But, it is unlikely that Duryodhana would keep his part of the promise. ”
Balarama objected to Krishna in blaming the Kauravas alone. He said that Yudhishthira should not have staked his entire kingdom. But, Satyaki, a prominent Yadava ,refuted Balarama’s words. He said that there was, definitely, cheating in the game of dice. The innocent Yudhishthira could not see through the deceit of Sakuni”.
Drupada said that the Pandavas should start preparing right then for an eventual war. They should seek the help of all other rulers. The first to approach would strike the deal.
Krishna agreed with Drupada on that point. However, he urged all to send a messenger to the Kauravas to talk peace. With those words he left for his abode, Dwaraka.
The emissary
Drupada asked his priest, an old and wise Brahmin to go to Hastinapura and talk sense with the Kauravas. He left immediately in the company of several other eminent Brahmins.
Before we learn about the outcome of the peace talks, we shall track the other side of preparation in the next episode, of promised help from various kings.
